Sticky Situations

My son turned 25 the other day. Where did the time go?! It goes so much faster than we think it will when they are little. And, I thought I'd remember every adorable moment, but I'm sure I don't. More than moments, I remember things we did. For instance, I remember the wooden container shaped like a loaf of bread that contained scripture verses. I remember that my son was so excited to take one out each day and read it. But, I can't remember any of the actual moments he read them.
I remember that he loved being read to. So, every night I would read him a page from the book "Sticky Situations". It had stories where kids had to figure out the right way to handle a "sticky situation" in the way that God would want them to. Those stories brought on other conversations and a time for learning about making good choices. I treasured those conversations!
Lives get busy and families today are busier than ever! But, I encourage you to find little ways to have those treasured conversations. Make it a routine in your busy schedule- 5 minutes at bedtime, on the way to sports practice, whatever works for you. You will look back when your children are turning 25 and be grateful for those treasured moments.
Each week, beginning today, one of the three sections will include a family devotion and a video for kids. Find a time to read and watch them during the week. There are links at the bottom of the newsletter if you would like to find a daily family devotional. In a time when families barely have time to eat dinner, let alone sit down together, we have to find a way to make time to connect, even if it's in the car or they go to bed 5 minutes later so they can spend that time with you. Check out the devotion links and the weekly family devotions we send.
Blessings,
Jennifer Casper

Shoveling

The other day, I went outside to shovel out my car so I could get to work. Just after I started, my neighbor pulled into his driveway. He immediately got out, grabbed his shovel and started helping me. We chatted while shoveling and knowing he had recently been on a trip, I offered to get his mail if he went away again. He told me he had just gone skiing in Europe! While there, he fell and shattered his helmet when he was skiing the alps. Then, he told me the most amazing story!
Last week, he had texted my husband to tell him someone was in our backyard. They both went out and by then, nobody was there but they concluded it must have been someone chasing a dog. The neighbor told my husband he had the worst migraine and that he had never had one before. My husband suggested he go to the hospital to get a shot like I have to do at times when my migraine is really bad. He ended up going and said he probably never would have gone if my husband hadn't suggested it. It turns out he had a brain bleed! If he hadn't gone to the hospital when he did, things would have been bad.
I took this as a reminder from God. We never know how God will use anything we say, do, or go through. And, if we think he isn't in on the little conversations but only pays attention to the big stuff, we are wrong. God is in our lives for the big and little stuff and he uses it all for good!

Intentional Outreach

Each year I pick a word and scripture to focus on. Last year, my word was “out” and my scripture verse was the Great Commission. This year, my word is “Intentional” and my scripture verse is 1 Corinthians 9:24- 27. “You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.”

I’ve been thinking and studying this thought as it pertains to my life and to my work. My plan is to be even more intentional about reaching out and sharing the gospel with others. I love my family and my church family- too much! What?! Well, in looking at my life, I am surrounded by awesome people, but they are mostly already connected to the church. (Don’t worry! I still plan to spend just as much time with all of you that I am blessed to have in my life!) So, reaching out has to be more intentional because it means I have to go to new places and find new people to share God with! So, here are some ways I am working on being intentional in my outreach. Some are new and some I started last year.

1. I spend Monday afternoons at a coffee shop. This has been a really great experience so far and I have loved connecting with new people and current friends. So far, in the 2 visits, I have connected with a church member who hasn’t come in years, a church member who just started coming again after a year without coming, someone who has been to the church a few times and is interested in learning more about the church, 2 moms not from the church who have brought their children to a childrens event recently, an active family that regularly attends church and the children and youth activities, and 2 young adults who were very hurt by another church and were raised going to church but stopped after being hurt.
2. I visit the preschool often and have a regular storytime visit every month with each class. This month we are ice skating in the classroom! So much fun with preschoolers!
3. Wednesday has become my tech morning. I have been writing newsletters to reach out to parents of children who have participated in activities at the church as part of my tech day. I also share the newsletter on facebook.
4. I am discovering Instagram. It’s a process, but my goal is to post challenges (in AM) and encouragement (in PM) daily.
5. I walk my dogs before work every morning. I use this time to listen to a Bible study and several devotions. But, I also use it to pray for my neighborhood and am carrying brochures to be able to hand out to people I talk to who might be interested.
6. Facebook can be a terrible thing. But, I have been using it lately to reach out to people I haven’t seen in awhile who may be struggling. I’ve met with 4 people just this week who I connected with years ago and who are interested in finding out more about the church. Also, I am involved with several parent groups and community groups on facebook and continually share what is going on.
7. I’m not promising anything, but as I thought about places to go to connect with new people where I would enjoy and that would be good for me too, I had a church member invite me to a free class at a new workout place. And, as I thought about it, I realized maybe this is a way to reach new people as we connect while meeting regularly every week. I’ll keep you posted on whether I survive tomorrow or not!
8. Thursday I am meeting with people from drug court to see if I can become a mentor with that program. A friend who has done this now has brought 2 people to church who now regularly attend.

So, those are just 8 ways I’ve incorporated God and sharing His message into my world. But, I feel there is another responsibility I have, and anyone who is a leader of the church. We have to equip others to incorporate sharing God’s message into their world. It may look different than mine, but the focus is the same. So, that’s what I intend to work on.

Why do we all have to work to build up the church and spread the gospel? Yes, I work at a church and therefore it is my responsibility to do those things. But, aren’t we all Christians and commanded to “Go and make disciples of all men”? If you went to work and told your kids to make their bed while you are gone and you come home and they haven’t made their beds, but they say “we talked a lot about making our beds and we watched great videos on youtube about it! We even wrote a song about it!” How happy would you be? So, how good are we at following God’s command of what we are to do until He comes back? What can you do differently this year?

Magic of Winter

I am the first to admit that I would love living where it's warm all year. I am definitely not a fan of winter! But, I do have to admit there are some things about winter that are magical! Of course, there is Christmas and all of the joy and excitement that it brings. 
But, there is something special about New Year's Day! I've been watching facebook the last few days and seeing so many posts about the year ahead- their hopes, their dreams, their plans to change and do better. And, I've seen a lot of posts reflecting on the year behind them- the good, the bad, the ugly! What makes that date on the calendar such a life- changing moment? How is it that we feel a sense of freedom and change because the calendar turns to a new day? Why can't each day be a time for opportunities to do better, to reflect on the past and learn from it and then move on? As I was pondering that, I thoughts of God. Once we put our faith in Him, each day can be a New Year's Day! Each day we are given a clean slate and have opportunities to do better. Because of God, we are forgiven of our past and given a chance to do better. What a blessing! We all mess up! But, with Jesus, we have been given a chance to get things right.
The other thing that feels magical to me is the first snow. You wake up in the morning, look out the window, and there it is- a blanket of white everywhere! Untouched and beautiful! Everything looks clear and clean and new! That's what I envision when I think of God's forgiveness. Everything is covered in a blanket of beautiful and new life!
So, I plan to remind myself of this when I mess up. We get a new day to try again! We don't have to wait until the next New Year's Day to change things. Let's start today!
Blessings,
Jennifer

2019 Goals

Happy New Year! As I've been reflecting on the year behind me and the year ahead of me, I've been thinking about what changes I have made this past year and the changes I plan to make in the future. Each year, I pick a scripture verse and a word to focus on throughout the year. 2018 was "Out" (thinking outside the box, going outside of my comfort zone, going outside of the church to reach out to the community) My scripture verse was Matthew 28: 19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”As with each new year, I started with excitement and big plans. I feel like we should celebrate New Year's Day at least twice a year to remind us of our New Year thoughts. I think quarterly would be most helpful. So, while I did accomplish some things that I would consider part of this, I definitely could have done better. While I did reflect on my word more often than some years, another word seemed to be sticking in my mind a lot more. And so, as I thought of my word for this year, I was tempted to keep my word from last year- see if I could take it further this year. But, in the end, I decided my word for 2019 kind of made itself clear throughout 2018. "Intentional" Sometimes life gets so busy that things just go along. But, by being intentional with everything I do, I have purpose and don't cloud my life with "just being busy". I actually started working towards some of my 2019 goals awhile ago. One of them was to walk my dogs daily and use that time to also listen to my daily devotions and Bible study. I have to say, I feel very intentional in these things and, although it takes over an hour a day, I always feel it's time worth spending. While listening to 1 Corinthians the other day, I came across some verses that I knew would be perfect for my 2019 scripture. When I looked it up, I decided on the Message translation.  "You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself." 1 Corinthians 9:24- 27

It's time to give it everything I've got, be intentional, and accomplish my goals!As part of our youth annual New Year discussion, we choose goals in 4-6 categories. I'm still working on my thoughts for these.

My sister invited me to a facebook group called #4goals. It seems the focus is to have 4 categories and a daily goal for each one- or an overarching goal with daily work in each category. The group encourages something for self, something for others, something for humanity, and something else, although that is flexible depending on the person. Mine don;t quite match up to that, but, I do have daily goals in mind for now, at least. 1) As I mentioned, daily dog walking and devotion time which covers both health and spiritual growth is well on it's way to becoming a habit. 2) Following the schedule I set for daily tasks for work is the next one and covers both workdays and days off with intentional Sabbath days. 3) Changing my eating habits to help my overall health and well-being is definitely part of my intentional focus since until now, nothing about what I eat has been very intentional except for not eating foods that trigger my migraines. 4) And, last but not least, I plan to be more intentional with my time with family and friends. This goal is a work in progress that I hope continues to improve as I have realized more than ever the importance of it.

I should probably schedule to send this to myself at the beginning of each month. But, for now I will start with today.

Blessings,

Jennifer